Repurposing Unbuilt Heritage for the Community: Guidelines for Creating Equitable Public Spaces to Engage Diverse Populations in IndiaNidhiMadanauthorWith growth of Indian towns and cities set to escalate through economic stimulus, educational and employment opportunities and aspirations, migration and development are rapidly changing small towns. As a result, historic precincts, fortified cities and pilgrimage towns are rapidly losing their historic character and sense of place. Particularly in cultural centres of historic towns, such as Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal or Lucknow, conservation for authenticity is a much lower priority than critical socio-economic development pressures. However, in this day and age, creating safe, accessible, approachable and equitable precincts can build on existing cultural precincts, create engagement with the local community and find new stakeholders and modern relevance. In repurposing these living city-cores, this paper examines strategies to create vibrant, equitable and relevant public spaces for the city. Culturally significant urban centres, with their dynamism and multifaceted evolution must cater to contemporary uses and also create improved understanding of its peopleparticularly in Indian culture, wherein diverse populations of gender groups, religious and caste distinctions, persons with disabilities, and differing economic classes have not traditionally mixed. The opportunity to craft shared public spaces as community spaces in urbanized and ghettoised cities using historic precincts as city centres will be investigated, to provide places for non-religious congregation, for engagement between citizens, for commerce and transit, for collective celebration and grief and for staging of disaster relief, if required. This paper investigates a divergent approach wherein the needs of diverse user groups are the primary concern, yet the heritage value defines the framework within which this approach can succeed. It addresses heritage precincts as places for its people and their contextual needs, within a set of guidelines that preserve tangible and intangible spatial, architectural and cultural values. To succeed it must not impinge on the economic, social and modern aspirations of burgeoning populations.03. Aménagement du territoire09. Aspects économiques et sociaux de la conservation05. Prévention de la dégradation04. Sensibilisation du public2018Document issu d'une conférence ou d'un atelier